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Do Byzantine Catholics observe the Solemnity of All Saints on November 1? What is your Tradition?

Thanks,
Guy

On St. Andrew Sheptytsky Day?

We have All Saints in the Byzantine Tradition the Sunday after Pentecost (referred to as Sunday of All Saints).

The Roman church transferred this observance to November 1st partly to Christianize the observance of Samhain, the Celtic pagan festival of the dead which occurred on the eve of the Celtic pagan new year, which began around November 1st.

The harvest was considered the end of the Celtic pagan year, hence the new year begins around November 1st.

Dear (Big) Guy!

There are, however, some Eastern Catholic Churches that do celebrate All Saints Day on November I, the Armenians and some others.

There are also some Byzantine Catholic Churches that celebrate it twice - on the Sunday after Pentecost AND on November 1st.

The Eastern Churches believe that a Saint is truly an Icon of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit has divinized the Saint etc.

This is why, in our Churches, you will see icons of Saints where they seem to share similar physical features, height etc.

That is because the iconographic tradition depicts the Saint as someone who has been divinized in Christ through the Holy Spirit and so has taken on Christ.

In our Church, services to Saints are truly Divine services as we honour the Immanent God Who lives in the Temples of the Holy Spirit who are His Saints.

This is why the feasts of All Saints, universal and particular, are held after Pentecost.

The second Sunday of Pentecost is like your Octave of All Saints - local Church Saints' feasts are observed, although many religious Orders in your Church observe their Saints throughout the month of November.

All Saints of Ukraine, Russia, Mt Athos, North America, Britain etc. are observed on that day, although the Ukrainian Catholic Church ordained its saints to be celebrated on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost - which is an unfortunate situation.

Alex

Glory to Jesus Christ!
The Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church celebrates All Souls on 5 Saturdays in the Liturgical Year: the Saturday before Cheesefare Sunday, on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Saturday of the Great Fast, and on the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday. These are marvelous celebrations of the Divine Liturgy, with deep red vestments, funeral tones. At the conclusion of the liturgy, there is commemoration at the Tetrapod of all the deceased faithful, by name, with incensing and prayers from the priest. You deeply feel the communion of saints by this experience.
We also celebrate the Sunday of All Saints on the Sunday After Pentecost.
Hope this helps,
Deacon El

Glory to Jesus Christ!

With all due respect Father Deacon El, the commemoration of All Souls Saturdays occurs the second, third and fourth Saturdays of the Great Fast and not the first. The Saturday before Meatfare and before Pentecost are also All Souls commemorations as you pointed out. The first Saturday of the Great Fast is the commemoration of St. Theodore of Tyro.

In some parishes kolyvo/kutia (wheat with honey) is blessed and distributed to the faithful in remembrance of the deceased on the All Souls days. In some parishes a special loaf of bread is used instead of kolyvo. Kolyvo is also used at commemoration of the anniversaries of deaths of the faithful.

In the Ukrainian tradition we also have an extended litany for the dead which is used after the Divine Liturgy on days of All Souls in which all of the deceased members of the parish and any others deceased the faithful wish to commemorate are mentioned by name in the litany for the souls of the departed.

Dark (red) is the appointed liturgical color for vestments, as Father Deacon has pointed out. We call these Sorokousty (literally, forty mouths) in the Ukrainian tradition. Interesting story about how that name came to be for that service but will have to wait for another thread.

This is off topic, but kolyvo is also distributed for the commemoration of St. Theodore Tyro on the first Saturday of the Great Fast because of his appearance in a dream to Eudokius, Archbishop of Constantinople. By an order of Julian the Apostate all of the meat in the market in the capital city of Constantinople had been sprinkled with the blood of pagan sacrifices, and the vision of St. Theodore commanded that only boiled wheat with honey should be consumed until the contaminated meat was removed. Since we're talking about All Saints...